ADVANCING GREEN STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGH UNDERSTANDING THE INFLUENCES OF SOCIAL FACTORS

Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is a nature-inspired engineering solution to stormwater management that has gained increasing attention over the last two decades. While the technical evidence supporting the efficacy and efficiency of GSI is crucial, it alone does not necessarily translate to a significant increase in GSI adoption. Even with the recent research focus gradually turning toward the social benefits of GSI implementation, the social factors that influence its implementation remain underexplored. Furthermore, successful GSI adoption and implementation requires a collaborative effort in governance transitioning, public engagement, and adequate consideration of demographic constraints. Therefore, it is essential to understand the social barriers that hinder the adoption of GSI. This dissertation draws interdisciplinary linkages between social barriers and the cognitive biases that may affect rational decision-making for GSI adoption.
Mecklenburg County, the most population-dense county in North Carolina, is an ideal case study location to represent future scenarios for other urbanized areas across the United States. The case study, including an online survey and interviews with local officials, reveals patterns that resonate with the literature's findings that negative public opinions hinder long-term support for GSI. This study created a simulation model to streamline decision-making processes based on individual behaviors to explore long-term local GSI adoption patterns. The simulation model developed in this study shows that cognitive biases, such as loss aversion and status quo, could impede broader GSI adoption. The insights of this work could help local stormwater management authorities identify shortcomings in current stakeholder engagement plans to increase financial support for GSI implementation in urbanized areas.